Saving Grace
by Gummiebear411
Summary: They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but how long is too long. Sequel to Take a Bite
1. Chapter 1

"I don't know Artie, it just seems like a bit much."

Artie sat forward in his chair and just looked at his ex girlfriend. "Tina. This is a chance of a lifetime, for both of us."

"I don't know," she shook her head as she took a sip of her tea.

The ex couple sat at a middle table at a Starbucks in the middle of Brooklyn. They had just finished their finals for their first semester of their second year of college. They were patiently waiting for the remainder of their friends to join them so they could celebrate.

"Puck personally asked for you," Artie reminded her. "You. Not Rachel or Santana or some nameless chick. You. Tina Cohen-Awesome."

"Artie," she just groaned.

"I'm not doing it without you," he threw his hands up in defiance. "I will not fly across the country and stay there for seven weeks without you."

"I'm free!"

Tina's face changed as she beamed at the sight of her boyfriend who was wailing ecstatically as he walked over to them. Trailing right behind him was their roommate who looked physically drained.

"Here," Tina said to Blaine and shoved a rather large coffee in his direction. "Extra shot of espresso."

"I love you," he spoke in appreciation while looking at his drink.

"Oh thanks," Tina replied dryly and looked over at her adoring boyfriend. "How was your final?"

"Remind me again why I went to art school?" Sam laughed and picked at the food that was in front of Tina.

"You love it," she answered and slapped away his hand. "Why do you always have to eat my food? Why can't you get your own?"

"Aww baby," he jokingly cooed and started to make kissing noises in her direction which made her slap his face away playfully. "What was up with the staring contest you two were having when we walked in?"

"Nothing," Tina quickly waved off.

"Tina," Artie hissed at her. "If I could I would be kicking you under the table right now."

"Drop it," Tina told him through clenched teeth. "This isn't the time or place to talk about it."

"There shouldn't be a talk about it at all," he countered.

"What are we missing?" Blaine asked.

"Puck was offered a chance to shoot his screen play by an up and coming Hollywood producer," Artie filled his friends in. "Seeing he's not getting paid much and has a really low budget he asked me to direct it for free and he wants Tina here to star."

"That's amazing!" Sam said excitingly and took out his phone. "I've got to congratulate him."

"So what's the problem?" Blaine asked the obvious question.

"It starts in mid January and runs till mid March," Tina sighed. "Meaning I'll have to miss most of next semester."

"Don't schools let people leave school for like great working opportunities?" Sam asked. "Didn't Rachel do that last semester when she got the understudy role on Broadway?"

"I can't do that," Tina said shaking her head.

"Tay," Blaine simply said and took her hand. "This is an amazing opportunity. You get the chance to act in a movie and have your friends by your side the whole time."

"I haven't even seen the script," Tina realized, obviously trying to back out. "Puck hasn't even asked me."

"He just did," Sam laughed and showed her his phone. "He also said you're crazy if you don't want to spend the winter in California."

"How are you okay with this?" She asked her boyfriend. "If I take this, I'm gone for at least two months."

"Babe," he soothed her worries with a gentle touch to her cheek. "I know how great this opportunity is for you. I'm excited for you, Puck and Artie as well. Go, don't worry about me."

"You sure?" She double checked.

"Positive," he reassured her and placed a simple kiss on her lips. "Besides, we have at least another few weeks before you leave."

"I guess we're doing this," she realized with a stunned laugh. Artie slapped hands with Tina.

"We're going to L.A. baby."


	2. Chapter 2

Driving back to Lima was not something Tina was looking forward to. It was two days before Christmas and she along with all her friends in New York packed into two rental cars to make their yearly trek home. She was currently sitting in the passenger seat as her boyfriend drove. Blaine and Artie sat in the back, passing out before they even hit New Jersey. The car in front of them held Rachel, Santana, and Kurt. The latter two had their significant others with them as well. They were now driving through rural Pennsylvania, her friends in the backseat still sleeping. Tina was starting to get cabin fever.

"So bored," Tina groaned as they drove past yet another abandoned farm. "I thought Lima was a hick town."

"This is nothing," Sam laughed. "Remember I lived in both Tennessee and Kentucky."

"I just want to get home," she admitted. "I can't believe everyone is coming home this year."

"Dinner tomorrow is going to be fun," Sam laughed. "We're gonna shut Breadsticks down."

"About dinner," Tina sighed. "Nervous to meet my parents?"

"I've met them before," Sam said, with a 'duh' expression on his face.

"As Sam Evans my best friends and future roommate," she reminded him. "Not Sam Evans my live in boyfriend."

"Shit," he cursed at the realization. "Is your dad going to kill me?"

"My dad? Try my mom," she laughed.

Sam wasn't easily intimidated. People of authority didn't really scare him, he was taught at an early age to respect his elders so he did just that. Growing up in the south did help when it came to manners and showing the proper respect people deserved. When he met Mrs. Fabray after dropping Quinn home after one of their dates, he dazzled his girlfriends mother. He put on his charm and won the woman over after a brief greeting. He knew Mr. Fabray was out of the picture so that was a small victory for Sam. Fathers usually hated the boy their daughter was dating, especially after said daughter became a teenaged mother.

Sam got lucky when he never met Santana's parents. Luckily their relationship wasn't important enough to either of them to introduce their parents. He had Santana over his house a few times but always when no one was home. He spent some time at the Lopez home but she made sure her house was empty. Winning over Mr. Jones was hard for Sam. He knew how much Mercedes respected and loved her parents so he knew he had to win them over. Charlene Jones adored him from day one but Walker Jones didn't appreciate his presence. It wasn't that he was against his little girl dating, he just didn't appreciate how they wound up together, the second time around. Walker Jones was a man of high morals and he didn't condone cheating in any form. So to say it was a challenge for Sam was an understatement. Sam finally did win him over mere days before Mercedes moved to Los Angeles and before their final break up.

Brittany's parents were putty in his hands. They fell in love with him on day one. From what Sam gathered the Pierce's didn't really understand or comprehend their daughters relationship with Santana so they took to Sam and his presence immediately. Even after their fake end of the world marriage they still seemed to like Sam. They saw how much he loved their daughter so they fully supported the relationship. Now Sam had to worry about Tina's parents. He had met the Cohen-Chang's numerous times over the years but now it was a different ball game.

"Anyone else here?" Sam asked as he and Tina arrived at Breadsticks on Christmas Eve.

"I think that's Kitty's car," Tina guessed and pointed their connected hands to a light blue Jetta.

Sam opened the restaurant door and was immediately greeted by the loud noise of his friends gathered together at a round booth.

"Sammy!" Mike called to him.

"Hey bro!" Sam greeted his friend with a quick hug and a pat on the back.

Tina froze at the greeting between her current boyfriend and her most recent ex. She knew that her and Mike were in a good place but it still felt odd to see him. "I was afraid that we were the first ones here."

"We're just waiting for Sugar," Quinn informed them as she patted the open seat next to her. "Sam, Tina, this is my boyfriend, Biff."

"H-hi," Sam shook the mans hand. He looked behind him at Tina and just raised his eyebrows curiously. He sat down next to Quinn and her boyfriend and pulled Tina close to him. "I didn't even know they had enough room for all of us."

"We kept this place running during high school," Santana told her girlfriend, Dani. "Every incestuous relationship within this group started here."

"What's so great about this place?" Kurt's boyfriend, Elliot asked.

"Endless Breadsticks," Brittany answered and took a bite out of one.

"Wait," Biff paused to collect this thoughts. "You all dated each other?"

"We need a graph to keep up with all our relationships," Santana huffed.

"Even though McKinley had a large student body we tended to keep our dating within the glee club," Rachel laughed and held Finn's hand tighter.

"I think we all dated at least two people in this club," Artie laughed.

"Speak for yourself," Mike said. "Kurt, Blaine, and I were one person kind of people in high school."

"That's right," Kurt nodded in agreement which calmed his worried looking boyfriends fears.

"Parties here!" Sugar announced as she walked into the crowded establishment.

"Speaking of an ex," Artie muttered with a laugh.

"What did I miss?" Sugar asked and plopped herself next to Unique and Marley.

"Talking about all the complicated relationships this group had," Marley laughed. "Lucky for me, Jake and I are still going strong."

"But didn't he date Kitty for a while first?" Sugar asked with a devious smirk on her face.

"Ignoring that," Kitty spoke up with a raised finger that was laced around Artie's hand.

"Anyone here not date someone at this table?" Dani asked with a curious laugh.

Everyone paused their side conversations and thought about Dani's important question. It did seem like they all did end up dating one another during their high school tenure.

"I think just Unique and I," Ryder pointed out with a laugh.

"Not that she didn't try," Kitty winked.

"Oh Lord," Unique groaned. "Child, Ryder and I are past that. Aren't we?"

"Yes we are," he agreed and looked down at the menu. "I just want some food."

The Christmas Eve dinner was nothing less the epic. To have all the past and current glee club members in one room, at one table, laughing and talking was a memory no one wanted to forget. The table was filled with laughter and memories. The significant others were included as well, they got to learn a lot about the people they were currently dating.

"So the college applications were due last week," Tina spoke and turned to the seniors across from her. "Where did you apply?"

"I actually applied to the Joffrey and Juilliard," Jake admitted sheepishly. "Mike convinced me."

"Oh my God, Jake!" Tina gasped in shock. "That's amazing."

"I highly doubt I'll get in though," he shrugged. "Ohio State and UCLA are my backups."

"You'll get in," Marley reassured him with a tight squeeze of his hand. "I applied to Ohio State and Kent State. I want to stay local for my mom."

"I applied to only New York schools," Kitty beamed. "Baruch and NYU. I decided to major in business. I can't stay in this deadbeat town for the rest of my life."

"Hey!" Finn protested at her words. "I love the University of Lima."

"Good for you," she teased the older boy. She laughed as Finn rolled his eyes at her comment.

"Ryder?" Tina pried as the boy just played with a lose string in his shirt sleeve.

"I'm never leaving this town," he sulked in his seat.

"Dude!" Sam exclaimed and slapped his friend on the back in support. "Neither did I, but I did and I'm loving every minute of it."

"Yea," Blaine nodded his head in agreement. "You did apply to schools though, right?"

"Yea," he nodded weakly. "Lima University and Ohio State."

"Good," Blaine concurred. "Just cause Santana doesn't believe in college or that Quinn and Brittany are geniuses doesn't mean that college isn't a bad thing."

"Food's here!" Kurt announced as he saw the wait staff walk over with their food. Ryder let out a sigh of relief as the conversation of school was immediately dropped.


	3. Chapter 3

"When did Sam say his family was coming over?"

Tina turned in her chair that was in front of her desk and faced her mother who was standing in the doorway. "He just text me that they're on their way."

"Nervous?" Mrs. Cohen-Chang asked. She walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of her daughter's bed.

"I'm not nervous to see Sam's parents," she told her mother. "I'm more nervous at how you and daddy are gonna act."

"Tina," she cooed and placed a piece of her daughters hair behind her ear. "Daddy and I love and support you. We're fine with you and Sam dating and living together, you're adults after all."

Tina let out a deep breath and nodded her head. "Thank you."

"You moving out to California is another story completely," she said as she got up and walked out the room.

Tina was shy, everyone who really knew her knew that. She hated change and being introduced to new people. She begrudgingly auditioned for the glee club because Artie convinced her to. He was her only friend at McKinley at the time and practically demanded that they join together. Once she joined, Tina met Mercedes, Kurt, and Rachel. Meeting new people plus the pressure to sing in front of the school made Tina become more shy. She came up with the stuttering act to deter people. Who would want to talk to a girl who couldn't have a normal conversation? It was a defense mechanism that worked perfectly, for a brief moment at least.

Being in glee club and around other people did open Tina up. She was always going to be that shy girl that panicked around crowds but she did have confidence. Mike helped her to see that opening up to people did have its advantages. Even though he was shy himself, Mike had a wise soul. He usually sat back and observed all that was around him which gave him the knowledge to perfectly gauge a situation or person. They were a perfect duo, the quiet couple that observed all but was also open to others.

Senior year found Tina shedding her old ways and embracing the new. She auditioned for the school musical, the second female lead, which eventually went to Unique then Santana. The shy girl may have seemed long gone but from the outside in Tina craved the familiarity of the choir room. She had more friends, yes, but they were all members of a club she had belonged to since freshmen year. She appreciated the new people in her life in New York but she felt most comfortable with her high school friends in her apartment in Harlem or the Brooklyn loft.

Now Tina felt like her fourteen year old self again as she sat at her dinning room table surrounded by her family and Sam's. She had a sudden urge to stutter every other word that came out of her mouth. Breathe, Tina, breathe.

"So, Tina, Sam was telling me this morning that you were cast in a movie," Mary Evans said. "That must be exciting."

"It is," Tina nodded as she played with the food on her plate. "I mean it's the lowest of budget films but Puck believes in me and I need to believe in him."

"She's gonna kill it," Sam beamed with excitement as he spoke. "I mean the apartment is gonna be a little quiet once she's gone but Blaine and I will make do without her."

"Just pretend that I'm in class all day," Tina joked.

"How is that gonna work?" Dwight Evans asked. "You'll be gone for a long part of the semester."

"I spoke to the academic dean before I left and I was allowed to leave for work purposes," she answered and looked wearily over at her parents. "It's a thing people do. Dakota Fanning does it all the time."

"That's good for her, dear," Mr. Cohen-Chang replied sarcastically. "You aren't an A-list Hollywood actress, you're just a simple girl from Ohio."

"Thanks dad," she grumbled from her seat obviously defeated over his words.

"Dakota Fanning is in the Twilight movies," Stacey Evans informed her parents. "You go to school with her, Tina?"

"I've seen her in the halls once or twice before," Tina told the astonished looking girl.

"That's so cool," the little blonde marveled. "I wanna go to school where famous people attend."

"Let's worry about getting you out of junior high first sweetie," Mary told her youngest child.

"You okay?" Sam whispered to Tina who looked absolutely defeated.

"Yea," she nodded not very convincingly.

"Don't worry," he reassured her. "We're meeting Blaine to exchange gifts after this."

"Thank God," she groaned and tried to smile up at her boyfriend who squeezed her hand in support.

After the dinner, where luckily the Evans and Cohen-Chang parents got along swimmingly, Sam and Tina left to meet Blaine at the lake. It was a little past eight o'clock and snow was starting to fall. It was a picturesque Christmas night. Sam unlocked the car door so Blaine could sit in the back seat.

"How was the dinner?" He asked the couple sitting in the front.

"Good despite my parents basically telling me that I'm stupid for going to Los Angeles," she sighed. "They support my dreams but obviously not when I follow them."

"Screw them," Blaine concluded. "I know they're your parents but you don't need them. You've got us, your new family."

"Thanks," she said sincerely and wiped a stray tear from her eye. "Gift time."

"Yes," Sam clapped excitingly and picked up a bag that was lying at his feet.

"Me first, me first!" Tina happily exclaimed and lifted the bag she had in front of her. She distributed the wrapped gifts to both boys. "Merry Christmas gentlemen."

Blaine unwrapped his gift excitingly. It was the perfect reaction Tina wanted. "Oh my God, Tay Tay."

"Like it?" She smiled widely, overjoyed at the reaction the gift received.

"A signed Playbill from the cast of Newsies!" Blaine gasped at the book in front of him. "How did you get this?"

"Rachel helped," she answered sheepishly. "She worked right next door so that helped a lot." She accepted the enthusiastic hug from her best friend and then turned to her silent boyfriend. "Sam? Baby, you like your gift?"

"Thank you," he answered, never looking up from his lap. "Where did you find a personalized sketch book?"

"Lee's on fifty seventh and seventh, the art supply store across from Carnegie Hall," she replied. "You have tons of sketch books for school but none for yourself, so why not personalize it with your name."

"I love it," he told her and ran his hand over the golden letters on the book. "It's simple but holds a lot of meaning."

"You two are sickening," Blaine laughed and broke up the cutesy moment. "Now open my gifts next."

"Sweet," Sam whistled once he opened the immaculately wrapped gift. "This is probably the only book I'll read willingly."

Tina moved so she could see the book properly. "Nerds. Really, Blaine? The encyclopedia of Marvel comics?"

"Well, I got him the DC encyclopedia for his birthday," he responded sheepishly and laughed as Tina rolled her eyes. "Open your gift T."

Tina sat back in her seat and attacked the small package that laid in her lap. "Aww, Blainey Days."

"It's a collage of pictures of the three of us from junior year till now," Blaine explained. "I tried to find a picture from sophomore year but like I suspected, there wasn't any."

"Thank you," she sincerely told him and rearranged herself to properly give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm totally taking this with me to L.A."

"Last but not least, my gifts," Sam spoke, breaking up the sweet moment. He passed out his gifts and watched anxiously as his friends tore open the wrapping paper. "Tada!"

"A CD?" Tina asked as she just stared at the disk in her hands. "People still listen to these?"

"It's not just any CD," Sam began to explain and took the disk out of his girlfriends hand. He placed it in the car radio and waited patiently for the music to begin. "Sound familiar?"

"Is this Proud Mary?" Tina asked and leaned closer to the speaker to investigate to song better. She watched as Sam changed the song. "True Colors? Sam what the hell?"

"This isn't just some CD," he scoffed at her earlier comment. "This is a collection of every song you sang in glee club. Freshmen to senior year, I got Kurt and Artie to help me with your freshmen year songs."

Tina's eyes grew wide in admiration as she began to skip the tracks so she could hear snippets of the twenty track CD. "This is beautiful."

"Dude!" Blaine excitingly exclaimed. He picked up the box that held his gift to show his friends. "Where did you find Avengers bow ties?"

"Oh my God," Tina groaned at the pair. "I'm stuck with a bunch of nerds for the rest of my life, aren't I?"

"Yes you are," Sam said affectionately and kissed her forehead. "You knew going into this relationship that Blaine and I tend to geek out around each other."

"Can we go home?" Tina asked once the car became silent.

"What now?" Sam asked in slight shock. "Blaine just got here."

"No, not here," Tina shook her head. "Can we leave Lima and go back to New York?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Blaine asked Tina. "All last week you were looking forward to coming home."

"I can't stay in that house," she sighed and played with the CD case in her hands. "Now that I now know that my parents disapprove of me going to Los Angeles."

"Stay with me," Blaine suggested. "My parents are leaving in the morning for some fabulous European vacation."

"I can't," she told him. "I don't want to be a burden."

"Tina," he eased her worries. "Sam's family heads back to Kentucky tomorrow and he's shacking up with me until we head back to New York."

"So we're bringing New York to Lima," Tina realized with a chuckle.

"We're brining New York to Lima," Sam nodded in agreement.


	4. Chapter 4

No one saw Blaine Anderson and immediately thought party animal. In all honesty, he was fine with that assumption. The first time Blaine can recall letting himself go and enjoying life was at Rachel's basement party sophomore year. Before then he'd been too shy to go to Dalton functions, especially after the disaster during his pervious schools Sadie Hawkins dance. Kurt had begged and eventually convinced him to let loose and enjoy life. That's where he met the rest of the New Directions crew. Blaine can remember Sam being attached to Santana's mouth the whole entire night. Tina was giggling with Mercedes one second and making out with Mike the next.

Once he transferred to McKinley it seemed as if every weekend was booked with a social function. It was either someone's birthday or just a celebration of something. Santana was fond of party throwing, especially when she had an empty house. They won Sectionals, party. Regionals, party. Blaine learned a lesson from the pervious year so he refrained from consuming copious amounts of alcohol. He just enjoyed the company of his friends. It was at those parties junior year that he mended the rift he had with Sam and realized how awesome of a person Tina truly was. Senior year saw the partying dwindle but that didn't stop someone from throwing an occasional get together.

Now that Blaine was living in New York and on his own he saw an uptake on his partying. New York was known for its late night so of course he was dragged to a club or bar from time to time. He always went in support, never one to partake in all the shenanigans. For some ungodly reason Sam always had a reason to celebrate. First day of college, that was a fair reason for a celebration. They all passed their classes, party time. Now that he was out of high school and was seemingly mature Blaine let himself let loose some. He drank but made sure he still knew where or who he was.

"Frodo, welcome," Santana greeted him. She passed him a hat and noise maker on his way in. "Welcome to Auntie Snixx's New Year's Eve extravaganza."

Blaine placed the hat carefully on his head. "I'm afraid of this night."

"This party will be epic," she concurred and ushered him into the living room. "Here you will see many of your friends already in the middle of celebrating."

"This is everyone?" Blaine asked and raised an amused eyebrow at the girl.

"Your roommates went on a liquor run seeing Puck failed to do the one task I asked him to do," she answered and cut her eyes at the boy who was sitting on a couch.

"Why do I always have to be the liquor guy?" Puck asked. "I'm more than just my badass ways."

"Sure," Kitty laughed at him with a sympathetic pat to his shoulder.

Blaine took a seat next to Ryder who was playing a game on his phone. "Happy new year, dude."

"Thanks," he shrugged his shoulders, never looking up from his game.

"Ryder," Blaine called to his friend and tried to pry the phone out of his hands. "Dude!"

"What!" He snapped and shoved his phone in his pocket.

"What's your problem, man?" Blaine asked, now concerned for his younger friend.

"I'm fine," he waved him off.

"Sure," he nodded, obviously not buying a word the boy was saying.

"I'm excited for all of you guys to be here," Ryder sighed, giving in. "It just reminds me that soon you all leave and I'll still be stuck here with no future."

"College still bumming you out," Blaine realized. "Finn and Sam thought the same thing and look at them now. I'm not saying that the idea of graduating and realizing everyone else is moving on wasn't scary."

"You were scared?" Ryder laughed. "The guy who had every performing arts school in the country begging you to attend."

"But that's the thing," Blaine continued and rested a comforting hand on Ryder's shoulder. "I had all this pressure and it got overwhelming. Do I do something that pleases my parents? Or do I respect my own wishes and dreams? Plus I had the added pressure of Kurt being in New York while Sam and Tina were still unknown."

"I am glad that everyone except Kitty applied to schools in the area," Ryder sighed in appreciation.

"Just enjoy the night," Blaine told him as Santana walked in carrying two beers. "You can worry about college later."

"College," Santana scoffed and passed the beers to the boys sitting on the couch. "You could always skip it and be awesome like Puck and I."

"Ain't that the truth," Puck spoke up and took a swig of his drink in celebration. "I didn't go to school and I'm on the verge of being famous."

"You're doing some low budget film." Kitty reminded him rudely. "Artie and Tina are gonna be the reason why it's gonna be successful."

"Thanks baby," Artie cooed and kissed her.

"Whatever," Puck rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer. "Where the hell are Sam and Tina with the rest of the booze?"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. We're here."

"Now this party can officially being," Santana announced and grabbed the bags out of her friends hands.

Like all the other New Direction style parties, Santana's New Year's Eve gathering was nothing less than epic. By eleven thirty everyone who was invited showed up and was ready to celebrate the end of the year. The Puckerman brothers started a game of poker and somehow convinced Joe and Finn to play along. Poor boys didn't realize they'd be losing close to a hundred dollars by the end of the night. The rest of the kids were scattered around the house just anxiously waiting for midnight and excited for the new year to begin.

"Two minutes to midnight!" Santana yelled to the mass of people in her home.

"Tina, come with me," Sam told the girl and took her hand.

"Where are we going?" She asked and willingly walked with him.

"I always admired the view from here," he explained and opened the patio door. He led Tina into the middle of the spacious backyard. "Whenever Santana and I had one of our many fights I just came out here to think."

"It's really beautiful," Tina agreed and looked up briefly at the clear night sky, stars danced above her head. "Thank you."

"Well, I also want to end and begin the year with my girl," he replied with a slight blush on his cheeks.

The couple stood outside, wrapped in each other's arms as they heard the countdown from their friends inside the house.

"3, 2, 1. Happy new year!"

"Happy new year," Sam whispered to Tina before pulling her into a brief kiss.

Tina pulled away from the kiss and looked up at her boyfriend, smiling widely. "Happy new year indeed."

"Dudes!" Blaine exclaimed as he threw open the patio door. He let out an obnoxious sound with the noise maker in his mouth. "Happy new year!"

"You're ridiculous," Tina shook her head in amusement and took the noise maker out of her friends mouth. "I truly do enjoy drunk Blaine."

"I'm not drunk," he slurred his protest. He stumbled a little and grabbed Tina's hand for support. "Okay, I'm a little drunk."

"Love it," Sam laughed.

"Whatever," Blaine shook his head and paused once he began feeling dizzy. "This is one of the last times we're all going to be together before Tay Tay leaves us."

"Aww Blainey," Tina cooed and pulled the boy into a hug. She wrapped her free arm around Sam's waist, who threw his arm over Blaine's shoulder.

"You guys really do have a dependency issue," Santana commented as she walked outside. "I thought Berry and Lumps were bad."

"Can we help you Santana?" Sam asked over Blaine's shoulder.

"We were cheering to the new year and happened to notice a certain trio was missing," she told them. "Seeing that it is my party I was told to make sure we didn't have three dead bodies hiding in our mist."

"How noble," Tina dryly said. "We'll head upstairs in a minute, we're having a moment."

"Have it then," Santana told them and walked back a little to lean on the patio door. "Don't let me stop you."

"Santana," Blaine groaned at her presence.

"What!" She defended herself. "If this turns sexual, I want a front row seat."

"You're disgusting," Tina told her with a shake of her head. She untangled herself from the boys with a disappointed sigh. "It's getting cold anyway, let's go inside."

The three friends reluctantly followed Santana back inside the house and rejoined the festivities. They were greeted with cheers and celebration of the new year. Tina became overwhelmed but realized that this was her family, they were loud but she wouldn't have it any other way. She was happy that she got to spend the first hours of the new year with the people that loved and supported her the most.

"Blaine Warbler!"

"Brittany," Blaine sighed at the girl. "You so know my last name is Anderson, right?"

Brittany looked around at the people around her, confused. A few of her friends nodded their head in agreement with Blaine. "What?"

"My name is Blaine Anderson," he stressed, not wanting to hurt the girl. "Warbler is the name of the glee club at Dalton that I was a part of. It's not my name."

"Sure Blaine Warbler," the girl laughed like she was in on the joke and shook her head. "You almost got me there for a second."

"Okay Brittany, sure," he sighed, giving in to her antics. It was much easier to let her believe what she wanted then trying to explain it to her all night. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes," she nodded. "At midnight I went around kissing all the single people and you weren't around for me to kiss."

"I-I'm okay Brit, really," he reassured her wearily.

"No," she whined. "It's okay to be lonely. I already kissed Ryder and Joe and Mercedes and Mercedes again. She's twice as single as everyone else."

Blaine looked behind Brittany at Unique and Mercedes who were talking to each other and shaking their head at the blonde girls antics. "I'm not lonely Brit, but thank you for the offer."

"I know it hurts to see Kurt with his vampire boyfriend because it still hurts me to see Santana with someone else," she sighed. "Honestly, it kinda hurts to see Sam with Tina. But they deserve each other, she never gets anything she wants."

"That's noble of you," he smiled at her in admiration. He also knew that the longer he stood talking to her, the more sober he'd feel, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"So, I'm going to kiss you," she declared and moved forward to place a simple kiss on his lips. "Happy new year, Blaine Warbler."

"Thank you," he laughed and smiled at her. "Happy new year to you too."


	5. Chapter 5

"Sam hurry up, I'm gonna miss my flight!" Tina wailed as she ran through the apartment. "And where the hell is my jacket!"

"I have it!" He called to her as he walked out of the kitchen, the jacket draping over his arm. "Calm down babe, you're not gonna miss your flight."

"You know how traffic is at this time of day," she sighed and stopped her movements once she was by the front door. She quickly let out a shaky breath to collect herself. "Okay, Blaine is downstairs waiting for the cab and he has my bags. Artie is meeting me at the gate. I have my ticket and my boarding pass. Am I missing anything?"

"Yes," Sam told her as he placed the jacket on her shoulders which she quickly placed her arms in.

"Oh God," she groaned at the realization. "What am I missing?"

"To breathe," he teased with a laugh. "And the fact that this is the last alone time we'll have until you come back."

"Oh wow," she marveled at Sam's revelation. "I'm going to L.A. for a long ass time, aren't I?"

"You're going to L.A. to be in a movie," he reminder her sweetly and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're gonna be a star babe."

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered. "I'll call every free chance I get."

"Don't worry about me," he told her and kissed her forehead. "Blaine will keep me sane and we all know that Santana will tease me the moment I start missing you."

"Good," she laughed and nodded her head as her phone started to vibrate in her hands. "It's Blaine, the cab driver is getting antsy."

"So, let's go," Sam said and took her hand and lead her out the apartment.

The three friends sat in the back of the taxi cab on their way to JFK airport in Queens. Tina sat in the middle of her friends, she rested her head on Blaine's shoulder and tightly held Sam's hand. She didn't want to leave them but she knew she had to, the chance to star in Puck's movie was a huge opportunity for her. They arrived at the airport and walked quietly to the security area, this is where Tina knew she had to say her goodbyes.

"Come here," Blaine called to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Watch Sam for me," Tina told him and wrapped her arms around Blaine's waist. "Don't get too crazy."

"We balance each other out," he reminder her. "I love you. Enjoy the city and the amazing experience."

"I love you Blainey Days," she sighed and kissed his cheek. She hugged him a little tighter before stepping out of the hug and walking over to her boyfriend. "I'll call you once I'm settled at Puck's place."

"Have fun," he told her.

"I'll try," she nodded and tried to hide her tears.

"That's not a request, that's an order, Tina," he said. "Like I said before, don't worry about me. Go be the star I know you can be."

Once past the security check point, Tina was on her own. She got to the gate where she met Artie just as they were boarding the plane. Once they were seated Tina placed their bags in the overhead compartment.

"I hate flying," Tina confessed as she grabbed Artie's hand as she felt the plane start to move.

"So let's take your mind off of it," he suggested. Tina looked wearily over at him but nodded her head. "Have you gotten a chance to read the script fully?"

"Yea," she answered. "It's actually really good, I'm proud of Puck."

"He had Finn help him tweak it over Christmas break," he told her. "Your lines are mostly the same."

"Have you heard about the rest of the cast?" Tina asked and gripped Artie's hand tighter as she felt the plane officially take off into the air.

Artie shook his head in amusement as he felt the blood drain from his hand. "Some random students from UCLA. Sugar is actually going to be the costume designer."

"Awesome," she replied through clenched teeth.

"Umm, Tina. I'm losing feeling in my hand now," he told her.

Tina ripped her hand from his and immediately looked embarrassed. "Oh God, I'm so sorry Artie."

"It's fine," he waved her off.

"So what are you doing with your apartment while we become stars?" She asked.

"I'm subletting it to Mercedes," he answered and casually skimmed through the in flight magazine.

"Mercedes!" She exclaimed and looked out the window as other passengers began to look at her. "She's gonna be in the city while I'm three thousand miles away."

"So."

"So! Artie, that Sam ex girlfriend, like his first love and she's now waltzing into the same city he's in now," she tried to breathe to calm herself down.

"I still don't see a problem," he told her and closed the magazine. "Tina, look at me. What's the problem?"

"Sam and I both have had long distance relationships," she sighed at the realization. "Obviously they didn't last. I guess I'm just afraid that our relationship is gonna end before it even had a real chance to start."

"You have lost your damn mind girl," Artie broke it down for the girl. "He adores you. He honestly makes the rest of us look like scrubs in comparison."

Sam wasn't fond of being alone. He got use to being lonely over the years, but it was a feeling he rather not experience as often as he did. When his family moved to Ohio the summer before his sophomore year of high school to say he had zero friends was a understatement. It sucked being the new kid, trying to establish yourself among people who already knew each other was hard. It was overwhelming walking the McKinley halls and seeing the crowds of people hanging out by the lockers or classrooms. During lunch when he saw the glee club perform Sam knew that maybe he found a place where he could feel less lonely. He eventually joined both the glee club and the football team but that didn't mean the loneliness ended.

When Sam dislocated his shoulder during his first start as quarterback, it shattered him. He was forced to stay home for a week to heal. He was home alone in a new city, new state, injured with no one to visit him or check on him to see if he was okay. It got depressingly lonely. There wasn't much you could really do with one fully functioning shoulder. He could've called his friends back in Tennessee but he honestly couldn't think of one person to call. He wasn't the most popular kid at his old school, so he felt as if no one would truly miss him.

That wasn't the first time Sam felt the severity of his loneliness while at McKinley. When he returned junior year, it was a known fact that everyone was glad to see him return. A week or so later, once the fun and excitement wore off, no one really knew how to approach Sam. Even Kurt and Finn were weary towards him and he lived in their home. He was a trooper though, just kept on smiling through the pain. He didn't help his own cause by arguing with Blaine or just focusing solely on trying to get Mercedes back. Slowly but surely the loneliness wore off once they won Nationals.

He strutted into McKinley at the start of his senior year as the big man on campus. Glee club and its returning members were finally popular, even though it was short lived. But for Sam being on the top came with an increasing sense of loneliness. The more people knew about you, or thought they knew you, made someone more aware of how depressing and alone you really were. Now that he lived in one of the largest cities in the world made Sam's sense of loneliness even more heightened. So it came as no surprise that when Sam and Blaine returned from dropping Tina off at the airport, Sam immediately threw himself on Tina's bed.


	6. Chapter 6

"Welcome to casa de Puck."

"You don't have a couch," Tina noticed when she walked into the apartment and threw her bags on the floor. "Or curtains."

"Details," he waved her comment off with a flick of his wrist. "The bedroom is on the right and the bathroom is on the left."

"Bedroom?" Artie repeated. "As in one? How are three people supposed to live here for three months?"

"I've got a blow up mattress in the closet," Puck answered. "And sheets and blankets can easily be converted into a bed."

"Talk about struggling artist," Artie mumbled which made Tina giggle.

An hour later the three friends got semi situated. The sleeping arrangements were pushed aside for now, that was a topic no one wanted to get into at the moment. Seeing that it was close to three in the afternoon Puck volunteered to take his friends out for a late lunch/early dinner. Tina and Artie wanted to sleep but decided that they just needed to fight through the jet lag. They arrived at a little cafe and decided to sit outside seeing it was unseasonably warm for both January and Los Angeles.

"Thanks," Tina told Puck as he passed her a straw for her pink lemonade. "I still can't believe I'm back in L.A. Last time we were here was for Nationals."

"Remember how sun burnt Finn got?" Artie reminisced with a chuckle. "We took one of those Hollywood tours on a double decker bus and good ole Finn forgot to apply sunscreen."

"And people say he's the brains of our friendship," Puck muttered around his fork which got both friends to laugh.

"So how is the shooting schedule gonna work?" Tina asked as she poked at her grilled chicken salad with her fork.

"We officially start shooting in two days," Puck answered. "Tomorrow you and the other actors are gonna meet with Sugar to get your wardrobe."

"I find it funny that she's in charge of costumes when during junior year she huffed and puffed about sewing our Nationals outfits," Tina laughed at the memory. "I had her, Joe, and Rory do costumes with me. I had to break in the newbies somehow."

After lunch Puck offered a tour of "his Los Angeles", which included a run down music store that exclusively sold old records from the 70's and 80's. They even drove past a few homes that Puck had the pleasure of cleaning their pools when he first came to the city over two years ago. Before they even realized it the friends finally arrived back at the tiny apartment around ten. The jet lag was once again kicking in for Artie and Tina so Puck gave up his bed and the semi comfortable looking air mattress to his friends while he slept on the floor.

"Tina."

Tina reluctantly opened her eyes and groaned at the sound of her name. "What?"

"Your pants are making loud noises."

"Huh?" She grunted her response. It took her a moment to realize what Puck was complaining about. "Fuck that's my phone."

"Answer it," he told her and tried to go back to sleep.

Tina crawled off the air mattress and grabbed her discarded pants which held her phone. She noticed the ringtone right away and answered. "Sam?"

"Hey babe," he replied and Tina could hear the smile forming on his lips.

"Ugh, Sam you so realize that it's only six in the morning here," she informed him and stood up and walked to the bathroom where she quietly closed the door behind her.

"Sorry," he sheepishly replied with a wince. "I forgot about the time difference."

"It's fine," she reassured him with a stifled yawn. "What's up?"

"You never called me yesterday to tell me that you arrived safely," he reminder her with a pout.

"Crap, sorry," she apologized. "We got here and then Puck took us out to eat and a tour of the city. I got a little distracted."

"I was just worried," he told her. "I kept checking the news to see if I plane crashed or something outrageous like that."

"No, I'm fine. Got here in one piece," she laughed at his over dramatic concern.

"Good," he breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry I woke you."

"It's fine," she waved him comment off. "I needed to wake up soon anyway. I'm meeting Sugar soon for my costume fittings."

"Sugar!" Sam exclaimed in mock horror. "I can just imagine the outfits she's gonna put you in."

"Well, if anyone knows how to dress a mob bosses daughter it'll be Sugar," Tina laughed and shook her head in amusement.

"Allegedly," Sam reminder her with his own laugh.

"Tina, I gotta take a piss!"

"God," she groaned. "Babe, I gotta go. Puck is being his typical self."

"I heard him," he informed her. "Have fun today with Sugar."

"I'll try," she told him.

"I miss you."

Tina smiled at his words and felt her cheeks being to flush. "I miss you too."

"For the love of all things holy," Puck groaned from the hallway. "Cut the cutesy shit. I gotta pee."

After they hung up the phone Sam walked out of Tina's room, the room he slept in the night before. He spotted Blaine sitting on the couch reading the morning paper and drinking a large cup of coffee. Sam walked in the kitchen to fix himself coffee before he joined Blaine on the couch.

"I can't believe you spent the night in her room," Blaine told him with a shake of his head and passed Sam the sports section of the paper.

"Thanks," he said and began to skim the pages. "She's fine by the way. She just got caught up in the whirlwind that is Puck."

"Figured as much," Blaine nodded as he continued to read the paper. "She's enjoying it though?"

"Yes. She's actually spending the day shopping with Sugar," he filled his friend in.

"Oh lord," Blaine groaned with a laugh. "That should be interesting."

"I'd pay good money to see that," Sam added. "Hey, did you get the text that Rachel sent last night?"

"About the pot luck dinner tonight seeing that Mercedes is in the city?" Blaine asked which received a nod from Sam. "I got it and told her that we're going and bringing dessert."

"Meaning I have to bake," Sam replied. "Last time you tried to cook we almost lost our kitchen."

"Hey!" Blaine cried in protest. "I tried, didn't I? Anyway, Tina and I did dub you the cook of this place."

"How you survived living on your own basically in high school is beyond me," Sam laughed and tried to dodge the newspaper that was being swatted at his head.

"Take out became my friend," Blaine told him, laughing as well. He stopped swatting Sam long enough to check out the movie section. "The new Hobbit movie came out last weekend, want to see it before we go to dinner?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed excitingly. "Bros day is officially on!"


	7. Chapter 7

Tina got dropped off by Puck in the middle of Beverly Hills. The boys were doing location scouting all day while she was playing dress up with Sugar and all her other actors. She stood in front of Chanel while she waited for her friend, clearly looking and feeling out of place. She looked down at her outfit and inwardly laughed at herself. She had gone through so many fashion changes in her short life but she was currently enjoying the one she was sporting. Since she moved to New York, Tina decided to dress casual chic. Jeans or form fitting sweatpants and a lose fitting shirt was her thing now. People got too obsessed with appearances in New York and at NYU so Tina just concerned herself with school and her friends.

High school was all about what you wore and who you were, that's why Tina always decided to put on a show with her clothes. They usually reflected how she felt. Freshman year and even part of sophomore year she wore dark clothes and sported black hair with wild color streaks in her hair. It reflected how alone Tina felt. It also helped that her appearance helped push people away before they got too close to her. When Mike came into her life her outside started to reflect her insides. She went for the mod look of the 60's which incorporated a lot of color. She smiled more and realized that people smiled back. She looked more personable so people were no longer afraid to approach her. Even after the break up Tina still went for the mod/go go look. It suited her well.

As she still waited, Tina wondered what her relationship with Sam would mean for her clothes. It wasn't like she needed a relationship to define her style but it did usually reflect how she felt. Sam had seen her in every look she ever tried, even that disastrous steam punk phase during senior year. She had a laugh at herself over that look, she was dealing with the shooting at the school and immediately thought about changing her look to reflect her confusion and feelings of helplessness and fright. Now that Tina had a chance to think she came to the conclusion that she didn't want to change her look for Sam or their budding relationship. She was an adult now, clothes should just be something you wear and not have it have to make a statement.

"Earth to Tina. Hello, Tina."

"Whoa Sugar, sorry," she apologized and shook the thoughts out of her head. "Zoned out a little."

"Obviously," the petite brunette replied.

"When did you get here?" Tina asked.

"Somewhere between the first and second giggle you let out," she enlightened her friend while flashing her infectious grin. "Whatever. I want you to meet the rest of the cast. Tina this is Noah, who's playing your husband."

"Nice to meet you," Tina shook his hand and smiled up at him. He towered over her, kind of like Sam or Finn did. He had a beautiful smile and dazzlingly clear blue eyes, his hair was black which made his eyes shine brighter, he was beautiful.

"He's off limits," Sugar whispered to her.

"Got it," she nodded at her friend.

"And then we have Thomas and Sarah," she introduced the two remaining people. "Your parents."

Tina shook their hands and gave them a brief, polite smile. "Where's everyone else?"

"You four are the main characters so Puck wants to focus on your wardrobe," Sugar replied and linked her arm around Tina's waist. "Let's go shop. I have an unlimited credit card and a burning fire to shop."

By the middle of the afternoon Tina was exhausted. Sugar had dragged her and her costars to every shop Rodeo had. Half of the bags weren't even for the movie, it was mostly for Sugar's own wardrobe. After a quick lunch the costumes for the other three actors were finalized, leaving Tina for last.

"I'm tired," Tina whined as she sat on a bench outside Dior. "We've been to every store and have purchased nothing for me."

"This is all for you, silly," Sugar told her and lifted the bags in her hand for emphasis.

"What?" Tina asked, flabbergasted.

"I didn't want the other guys to know," she explained and took a seat next to her friend. "I bought a majority of these outfits for you."

"Sugar."

"Some for the movie and some for personal use," she further explained. "Well, not all of it. I did buy myself a few tops and dresses, of course."

"Of course," Tina nodded with a laugh. "You Sugar Motta never seize to amaze me."

"That's a good thing, right?" She asked.

"Yes, it a good thing," she told her. "T-thank you for all of this."

"Its daddy's credit card," she waved her off with a flick of her wrist. "He told me to use it for emergencies and this is an emergency in my book."

After another hour of torturous shopping, Tina got a ride back to Puck's house from Sugar. Once outside the apartment Tina gathered all the bags of clothes Sugar bought her for personal use and dragged them and her feet inside. The sun was starting to set and Tina felt like her feet were on fire and she was starving and exhausted. She knew a day of shopping with her outrageous friend would end up draining her but she didn't realize how spent she'd actually be.

"We were about to call the cops," Artie told her as she entered the apartment.

"My whole body feels like a pile of mush," she groaned in pain and toed off her shoes and tossed her bags on the floor.

"Here," Puck offered her a glass of wine. "I have no idea if it's any good but Unique and Sugar seem to enjoy it."

Tina took a sip and nodded her head appreciatively. "It will do just fine, thank you."

"Tina did you see the picture Mercedes posted on Facebook?" Artie asked his exhausted looking friend.

"Not yet," she replied and fished out her phone from her bag. She went to the Facebook app on her phone and was greeted with a picture of all her friends in New York smiling around the kitchen table at the loft in Brooklyn. "Aww look Finn's there too."

"Bummer," Puck winced as he looked at the picture over the girls shoulder. "They're all there and we're here."

"I know," she sighed and kept looking at the picture. Her boys were sitting next to each other, smiling like the fools she knew they were. She liked the picture and took a screen shot of it to eventually turn it in to her background picture on her phone.

"How do you do it?" Artie asked Puck. "I mean I can obviously see the appeal of the west coast but how can you live here when a lot of us are on the east coast?"

"It does suck at times," he nodded his head in agreement. "At first it was just me and Mercedes. That's why I went back to Lima when Finn returned, I did get lonely out here. Now I have Unique and Sugar and eventually Mercedes will come back."

"I don't know how you do it," Tina told her and sipped the remainder of her wine. "I couldn't imagine being separated from my friends."

"You think I'm lonely?" Puck scoffed. "Imagine how lonely Quinn, Mike, Brittany, or even Joe must've felt. They're in a new city without anyone familiar around them to fall back on."

Tina looked at her two friends and received a pensive nod from Artie and a raised eyebrow from Puck. "I guess you're right. We are lucky to be where we are. It just bums me out that I might be missing so much in New York while I'm here."

"That's why they invented Skype and cell phones," Puck chuckled. "That's how I keep in contact with all of you."

"The wine is just making me sappy," she concluded and choked back a tear. "I haven't been separated from Blaine or Sam in what seems like forever. But it does feel good to reconnect with old friends."

"How about we order a pizza, pop in a movie and just lounge for the rest of the night," Puck suggested. "Day one is tomorrow and I don't want a tired director or lead actress."

"Sounds good to me," Artie agreed and wheeled towards Puck's movie collection. "Any suggestions?"

"No chick flicks," Puck told him and looked over at Tina quickly.

"You own chick flicks?" She asked with a laugh.

"Sugar and Unique may have forced me to buy some," he replied with a nonchalant shrug. "They told me it'll help me write from a female perspective."

"Got it!" Artie exclaimed and pulled a movie out of the collection. "I think this will please all of our needs."

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Tina read the title with glee. "Nice choice."


End file.
